As the NFL season and fantasy football are winding down for the year, another version of competitive fantasy leagues is just beginning: fantasy Bachelor leagues. Bachelor Matt James’s season premiered Jan. 4, also commencing fantasy leagues based on the reality TV show. In a similar fashion to fantasy football teams, fantasy Bachelor participants pick players (contestants) to construct their team and then earn points each week for how their team performs. The main difference between the two leagues lies in how players earn points. While football players earn points for rushing yards, interceptions, or sacks, bachelor contestants earn points for receiving roses (an emblem that the Bachelor feels a connection with them, and wishes to keep them on the show for another week), or, in some leagues for kissing, dancing, or eating with the Bachelor.
Newly accustomed fan of the Bachelor senior Anthony Chen has never been in a league before but decided to try it out this season.

“I only started watching [The Bachelor] because a few friends thought it would be fun and I hesitantly obliged. I tend to be much more of a movie person and definitely don’t watch much reality/romance in general” Chen said. “I have not done the league before… [but it] is really simple. Your team gets points based off of certain actions that occur, for example getting a rose during the ceremony would be 1 point, and [whoever has the] most points at the end wins.”

Although Chen and his friends didn’t go through the official Bachelor Fantasy Website, it is available to provide players the opportunity to join or create a league with people across the country.

The website separates the leagues into three different types: “First Impression,” “Rose to Rose,” or “Advanced.” In the First Impression League, players choose their team of contestants after the first episode with no opportunity to change as the season progresses, and earn points solely on whether their contestants receive roses. The Rose to Rose League works the same way, except players have the ability to change their team in between each episode, so long as they lock in their players by 8 p.m. each Sunday night. Lastly, the Advanced league is the one most similar to fantasy football. Just like in the Rose to Rose leagues, participants choose new contestants for their team each week. The kicker is that contestants are judged on much more than just receiving a rose or not; there are hundreds of rules where contestants can win or lose points based on, such as “The first contestant to mention their pet to Matt” for +5 points or “First person to get sent home on a one on one date” for -10 points.

Sophomore Anna Nowakowski is an avid fan of the show but has never competed in a league before.
“[The Bachelor] is so entertaining and I get very invested in the drama which I like to follow… [using] social media to check up on the contestants. I have never participated in a bachelor fantasy league, but I hear that it is really fun and I would totally consider joining one in the future” Nowakowski said.
Although Matt’s season of the Bachelor has already been through multiple episodes, it’s not too late to start a league or join an already established one at BachBracket.com.